Chicago Cubs’ Shota Imanaga (31) has allowed multiple runs for the second straight game.
Imanaga allowed five runs (one earned) on seven hits (one home run) with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on May 5.
After walking leadoff hitter Corey Zulks in the top of the first, Imanaga gave up a single to Andrew Vaughn, but retired both Luis Robert Jr. and Paul DeJong to get out of trouble. The second inning ended with a triple play.
After a leadoff walk to Lenin Sosa in the third, Imanaga induced a 6-4-3 double play to Martin Maldonado to erase the bases. Zulks struck out swinging to end the inning.
After cruising through three innings, Imanaga ran into big trouble in the fourth. Back-to-back singles to leadoff hitter Vaughn and Robert Jr. put runners on first and second with no outs. DeJong induced a grounder to third base, but the throwing error allowed Vaughn to score the go-ahead run. With runners on second and third, 안전놀이터 Gavin Sheets fouled out to the catcher, but gave up a two-run double to Corey Lee. Danny Mendick walked, and with runners on second and third, Sosa hit a two-run homer to center field, giving up five runs in the fourth inning alone. Maldonado got out of the inning with a swinging strikeout.
In the top of the fifth,
Imanaga, who led off with a double to Zulks, got Vaughn to fly out to center field. The game was then suspended due to rain and he was replaced by Tyson Miller, who finished the night. The Cubs came back to win the game 7-6. Imanaga threw 66 pitches in the game. His arsenal included a four-seam (36 pitches), splitter (27 pitches), sweeper (2 pitches), and curveball (1 pitch) that reached 93.3 mph (150.2 km/h).
The veteran left-hander, who compiled a 64-50 record with a 3.18 ERA in 165 games (1002⅔ innings) over eight seasons (2016-2023) in Nippon Professional Baseball, signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Cubs this offseason. His dominant start to the season, which earned him National League Rookie of the Month honors in April, raised expectations for a successful debut season.
Imanaga, who had a season ERA of 0.84 until last month’s game against Pittsburgh, has struggled in his last two starts. He allowed seven runs on eight hits (two homers) with one walk and one strikeout in 4 1/3 innings in a loss at Milwaukee on March 30, and he gave up five earned runs in the same game, although he allowed only one earned run. On the season, he is 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA in 11 games (62⅓ innings).
According to Japanese media outlet SporNichi Annex
“Shota Imanaga started a home game against the White Sox. He pitched a five-hit, five-strikeout shutout through three innings, but gave up five runs in the fourth inning on fielding errors. The game was suspended due to rain in the fifth inning and he did not return to the mound after the rain stopped. It was disappointing to not go five innings for the second straight game and give up a lot of runs,” Imanaga said of his pitching performance.
In his post-game interview, Imanaga said, “I felt the momentum of the opposing batters and was overwhelmed. In the first inning, I was able to keep the batters at bay with good feel, but in the second inning, I started to let the ball go a little bit inside the strike zone, or the high ball went low, and they took advantage of it,” Imanaga said.
“I thought I had to stop it,” Imanaga said of the fourth inning error, “and the home run had nothing to do with the error. I want to eliminate that, and next time I’m going to try to reduce the number of runs as much as possible after the error. I think Morel said sorry in English (after the error). I didn’t say anything, I just made a gesture that I’m going to catch it next time.”
After a dominant start to the season, Imanaga, who gave up a pair of big runs in back-to-back games, said, 슬롯 보증 사이트 “Sometimes in baseball, it’s luck. I think I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been able to keep the batters off the board. Now, my real skills will be tested, so I’m determined to trust myself and do my best.”